Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Happy Blogiversary!

I started writing this blog on 04 Jan 2011, exactly one year ago today.

Over the course of that year, I've written over 265 posts. That's more than two posts for every three days, on average. I'm not up there with the more prolific geneabloggers like Thomas McEntee or Randy Seaver or Ol' Myrt, but then again, I'm not retired, either. Many of those posts were "prompted", meaning I participated in a common theme or activity, like the 52 Weeks series Some of them were "How To" technical articles, mostly about digitizing photographic or genealogical records. I'd like to get more of those written! They were some of the most-read, so I know there's a need for the knowledge out there.

For those 265 posts, you, the readers, have racked up well over 8,350 page views! I am somewhat surprised, and definitely gratified that my writing is important to someone other than just me and my family. I appreciate each and every one of you reading my posts.

When I started writing this, I was not sure if I could make a go of it and keep it up. Fortunately, the cost of entry was very low (free!) and it wasn't going to be a huge problem if I let it go, but I did want to see if I could make it work. At first, I was unemployed, like many in the economic troubles over the last couple of years. I was more prolific when I wasn't employed. My output dropped off a little when I picked up some part-time work, and then dropped again when I got re-employed full time. There was a bit of adjustment to the lack of available time to write posts. Recently, I've managed to pick it back up a bit, even if it's mostly been prompted posts.

So now that I've said all of that, are you writing a blog? If not, why not? If I can do it, YOU can do it. Do it for yourself. Do it for your family. Do it for your descendants. Do it for the "genealogical community" that everyone is discussing lately. Everyone has a story to tell about their life. Blogging lets you do it on your terms, on your time, in small chunks. You don't have to commit to writing a book. And as I've discovered, you WILL have people reading your posts! Probably more than you expect. Don't be intimidated by the output of the big name geneablogs, you don't have to write frequently, or regularly. Write on your own terms.

If you've looked at many genealogy blogs, you've no doubt seen that there are a wide variety to choose from. Pick a style that suits your life story, or the things you want to cover. Mesh more than one if you choose. Looking back at my posts, I started with more of an information provision style, but as time went on, I changed to more of a journal style, talking about my life and those of family I knew. You don't have to stick with any one thing. The important part is to START! Use the prompts if it helps, that's why their creators put them up. Write what you know, whether that be your life, or your family history or something else.

Sorry I got so long-winded! Thanks again, dear readers, for following along and letting me know it's worth continuing. I look forward to another year!

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